BRIEFLY IN PUBLIC SAFETY

Man suspected of prowling with knives

A Costa Mesa man was being held at a jail in Orange on Saturday after Costa Mesa police arrested him Friday morning on suspicion of prowling and possessing a dangerous weapon, Costa Mesa Police Lt. Dale Birney said.

After being booked at Costa Mesa Jail, Jose Manuel Lopez, 36, fashioned a shank-type weapon from a plastic spoon given to him during lunch, police said. That could result in a felony charge. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold was also placed on Lopez at Costa Mesa Jail.

At 5:15 a.m. Friday, police responded to the 700 block of Shalimar Drive after neighbors reported loud noises. Police found Jose Manuel Lopez, 36, in an alley behind Shalimar Drive with a knife in each hand, Birney said.

After conducting an investigation, police found out Lopez had reportedly climbed up to a second story balcony using a plywood fence and attempted to enter a residence through a sliding glass door. The residents then pushed Lopez outside and closed and locked the glass door, Birney said.

The residents told police they had no idea who Lopez was or what he wanted. Lopez reportedly did not assault anyone with the knives, Birney said.

Lopez was sent to Orange County Jail’s Theo Lacy Facility, where he was ineligible for bail Saturday, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department inmate list.

Immigration hold put on hit-and-run suspect

A Costa Mesa man was being held at Costa Mesa Jail on Saturday afternoon after police arrested him early Saturday on suspicion of drunk driving and hit-and-run, police said.

Witnesses called police after reportedly watching Julio Rozas, 22, hit a parked car in the parking lot of the Memphis Soul Cafe and Bar while leaving the lot around 3:30 a.m., Lt. Dale Birney said.

Rozas reportedly fled the scene and police caught up with Rozas in the 600 block of Baker Street and arrested him, Birney said.

Rozas is ineligible for bail at Costa Mesa Jail because there is an Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold on him.

Report of assault at bar was false alarm

Police were called to a Costa Mesa bar around 12:30 a.m. Saturday when a woman told them she was beaten up by her date, Lt. Dale Birney said.

After investigating, police concluded that the inebriated woman had not been assaulted by the man, but instead had simply fallen out of the passenger side of the car, injuring herself. Police made no arrest or citation.